


break(through)

by carminesunset



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Canon Compliant, Cuddling & Snuggling, Kevin Day Is Too Tall For His Own Good, M/M, Post-Canon, Road Trips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-09-08 04:13:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20306695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carminesunset/pseuds/carminesunset
Summary: neil, kevin, and andrew finally go on that roadtrip.For the 2019 Summer Exchange Event





	break(through)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PaintedYertle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaintedYertle/gifts).

> For atomicjuniper@tumblr, who requested:  
"Andrew, Neil, and Kevin going on that road trip they talked about in King's Men the summer after the events of King's Men"
> 
> thank u to J for beta-ing this! ur a lifesaver UwU

When Andrew’s yawns become too frequent, Kevin convinces him (nags him, really) into stopping at the nearest motel. Neil slides out of the front passenger seat, and winces sympathetically when Kevin pulls his too-tall body out of the back seat. They’re barely a week into their road trip, and already Neil finds himself tired of the cramped quarters.

It’s worth it though, if only for the sights they’ve seen and the quiet moments between them.

They started at Columbia and made their way down to Charleston to see the beach and watch the sunset and the sailboats gliding past in the far off distance.

(It reminds him of another beach on the other side of the country — sand, grasping at his feet as a fire burns behind him. He shivers.)

After Charleston, they’ve meandered their way down the coast, stopping often to visit a historical monument or several. Most of it is for Kevin’s sake, really, but even Neil can’t help but feel a little interested when Kevin is gushing. Andrew is unimpressed as ever, though Neil wonders if it’s because of the content or because it is not unlike Kevin’s usual rants about Exy.

(Both, it’s definitely both.)

_ Open 24/7,  _ says the motel sign.  _ Rooms available! Only 45$ per night. _ It’s honestly the least sketchy motel around, but Neil still finds himself wary. He tugs the hood of his jacket over his head. Without waiting for either of them, Andrew quickly makes his way to the tiny check-in office. The man inside doesn’t bother to greet them, instead lounging behind the counter reading a magazine. 

Kevin clears his throat. The man doesn’t even look up, pointing at the sign on the counter.

_ Please Ring The Bell For Service.  _ The sign points to what is indeed a tiny bell. Andrew smacks it with his palm, unamused. 

The man clears his throat and closes his magazine before smoothing down his shirt once, twice. He pulls the cigarette from his mouth. 

“How can I help you gentlemen?” He asks, skirting his gaze from Andrew, to Neil then finally to Kevin.

“We need two rooms. Just for one night.” Kevin pulls out his wallet, but Andrew stops him with a  _ Look _ .

“Let’s see…” the man shuffles through several papers for a moment. “Sorry boys, all we’ve got is one room left. Two doubles. A working TV, though.”

Neil looks curiously between Andrew and Kevin. Andrew seems to ponder it for a moment before nodding. “Fine. We’ll take it.” He slides over his own card.

The man huffs on his cigarette once and exhales gustily, punching out the purchase on an ancient register. “One night, room 24. And remember —“ he lets out another cloud of cigarette smoke. “— no smoking on the premises. Against the law and what-not.” He slides over the keycard and returns the debit card, and Andrew snatches it before Kevin can say a word.

“Thank you,” Neil manages before following Andrew and Kevin out the door. The man behind the counter just sighs and goes back to his magazine.

The motel room is… well it’s not the worst place Neil has slept in, he can say. The walls are a dingy grey that might have been white once, and he’s sure the last time it was redecorated was in the fifties. He hopes that the bathroom has been cleaned in the last decade. 

Andrew tosses the room key on the tiny table by the window — which serves as a scenic view of the highway and parking lot — and throws himself on the bed, back first. 

Kevin says something about going out to get food, but Neil is too busy watching Andrew to listen. The door shuts behind Kevin with a click, and Andrew and Neil are alone.

“Hey,” Neil says. Andrew has draped an arm over his eyes. “ _ Hey,”  _ Neil says again, flopping onto the bed beside Andrew. He curls up so he is facing him. Without saying a word, Andrew extends an arm in invitation. Neil presses close and stares at the popcorn ceiling. He tries not to imagine what the room would look like under a black light.

Instead, he turns his head to stare at Andrew. Pressed this close, Andrew smells of cigarette smoke and stale clothes. Both of them, possibly all three of them, need a shower. Or five. 

“I can feel you staring.”

“Oh yeah? What does it feel like? Me staring.”

“Annoying.”

Undeterred, Neil continues his probing stare. The hot sun has made his freckles stand out in sharp relief against his pale skin, and Neil can’t help but want to trace it with his fingertips. From where Neil is laying, he can even see a freckle or two on his earlobe. 

Andrew’s hand grasps Neil’s. “Now is the time for sleep. Not staring.” His eyes are still closed, but his breathing is nowhere near the regular rhythm of sleep. Their hours on the beach have shown themselves on the bridge of Andrew’s nose and across his forehead in the form of dry, tight skin. It would surely turn into an awful sunburn soon if it wasn’t tended to.

But he’s here in Andrew’s arms, and he’s loathe to move from the comfort.   
The door to their room opens with a quiet click, and Kevin lumbers in quietly with a bag of what looks to be fast food, phone up to his ear.

Neil sits up with interest, but Andew’s arm clings stubbornly to him. He settles for an awkward slouch against the bed, half sitting up and half laying down.

“Just a moment, Thea.” Kevin presses his phone to his chest and gestures to Neil and Andrew with the bags. “Food? It’s all I could find near here, sorry.“

Neil looks down at Andrew’s “sleeping” face. “No, I’m good. I think we’re just going to go to sleep.”

Kevin shrugs. “Suit yourself. It’ll be on the table then.” He puts his phone back to his ear and walks into the bathroom.

When the door closes behind him, Neil allows himself to slouch back into Andrew’s arms, wriggling around until his face is pressed into Andrew’s neck.

“You should put lotion on,” Neil murmurs. All of them will regret it in the morning if he doesn’t. Exhaustion pulls on his eyelids.

“Sleep,” is all Andrew replies.

And so he does.

-

Neil is right. When Neil wakes up in the morning, shivering from where Andrew has stolen the blankets, he can see that Andrew’s face is tinted a deep red with the sunburn. He bets that if he were to touch his face, the skin would be as warm as a fever. On the bed next to them, Neil sees Kevin’s head poking out from under the covers. The bed is not quite big enough for him, and his feet stick out awkwardly in the morning air.

He takes another moment to rest before picking himself out of the bed and peeking out the curtains to look outside. Even from inside, he can feel the telltale heat and humidity of the summer.

Florida is their goal eventually, hopefully. Sometime before summer starts again and school starts anew. Before Exy starts anew.

It’s been a few months since that final game. It feels like years ago, but at the same time — it feels like only yesterday. The three of them, four really if he includes Jean Moreau, are supposed to continue on with their lives as though nothing has changed, as though the Moriyamas still aren’t looming over them, even if distantly.

From one master to another.

But those worries are for another Neil, a future one.

“Shut those damn curtains, Josten,” Andrew groans. His voice is gravelly with sleep. Kevin’s feet twitch at the noise, and he pulls the cover up over his head, exposing more of his leg. Neil watches with amusement for a moment as Kevin struggles to adequately cover his too-tall body with the blanket. Eventually he gives up and pushes his covers down, blinking in the morning light. Andrew is stubborn, though, and doesn’t budge from his spot under his covers.

Neil glances outside again. It’s early enough that he can hear that the highway nearby is almost quiet, but late enough that the sun has just begun to dawn outside. He shuts the curtains, enveloping the room in darkness once more. Just this once, he can skip his run outside.

Neil can’t see Kevin’s expression, but he can sense his tired confusion.

“We can afford to sleep in a couple more hours,” Neil whispers to him. He crawls back beside Andrew, who unwraps himself from his blanket burrito and tugs Neil close. He curls around Neil’s body, tucking himself behind Neil’s back, and he has to stifle a laugh when Andrew’s hair tickles his neck.

Shuffling, a sigh, and their breaths quiet down to sleep again.

Neil was used to running. But now as he travels down the coast with Andrew and Kevin — he finally realizes he never has to run away again. That he can afford a few extra hours of sleep, just…  _ because. _

That traveling for fun and eating junk food, and pressing his cold feet between Andrew’s thighs are all a luxury he can finally afford.

Across the room, Kevin murmurs something in his sleep and shifts around for several moments before finally settling down.

In another life, it would have kept Neil on edge. Instead he sleeps.

**Author's Note:**

> and there it is. Sorry it was posted so late! I was caught up in a convention this weekend :P  
I hope you enjoy it! I couldn't remember if they spoke about roadtripping to a specific place, so I just wrote what I was familiar with.
> 
> find me on tumblr@mokuuton


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